Best Of
Re: What documentary are you watching?
@lobster said:
Such an ethnically diverse country.
Had to watch this in spurts due to interrupts @Shoshin1. It was amazing, the diversity of cultures/languages etc. Great history of part of the Silk Road used by Marco Polo but from the Chinese perspective. Brief mention of the introduction of Buddhism, remnants of Persian Islam and Zoroastrian religions. May watch the next part of the journey into Xizang/Tibet/Trump Highlands (or whatever name they are festering over) ...
https://blogs.soas.ac.uk/china-institute/2024/12/11/tibet-must-stand/
Over the years, I've become a bit of a Sinophile. China’s culture and philosophy are incredibly rich, shaped by over 5,000 years of continuous civilisation.
And with the way the West is going, the Chinese have every right to use the term uncivilized barbarians when referring to Westerners .
Shoshin1
Re: New Pope on her way...
The conclave rituals started this morning… the longest conclave in modern times lasted 5 days, so it’s pretty likely there will be a new pope soon.
Jeroen
Re: What documentary are you watching?
I understand where you're coming from @Jeroen, I have spoken to many friends who feel the same as you regarding these horrendous life events.
Friends often ask me, ‘How can you watch things that are so heartbreaking?’ I tell them that I sit with my heartbreak and all the other uncomfortable feelings that arise. At times I’m brought to tears. I also observe the rise of anger and frustration, and their passing. Allowing myself to feel these emotions helps me experience life more fully, understand human nature more deeply, and cultivate compassion and empathy for all sentient beings. It also strengthens my commitment to stand in solidarity with those who are being dehumanised, and to do what I can to help others.
Shoshin1
Re: Mastering Zazen, mastering one's life?
@Kotishka said:
So… is this it, then? There’s no real goal—just a lifelong practice of learning to sit and simply be, whether it's raining, you're heartbroken, or you're high on some success at work.
Hmm, some of the quotes in the No Buddhist Quotes thread imply that there is no path to enlightenment, that maybe it happens but there is nothing you can do about it. That once you see it, you realise this was it all along, and it has always been this.
For me, what happened was that a great deal of time spent alone slowly caused things to start dropping away. As you lose the trappings of society, you come more to stillness and quiet inside. It’s not like quiet outside, just a matter of noise, but slowly there is a cessation.
Jeroen
